Vyto Starinskas / Staff Photo
Rutland City Police investigate a robbery on Center Street in Rutland on Friday at noon.

A quick-thinking barista has been credited with saving the day in an attempted robbery at the Coffee Exchange in downtown Rutland today.

At around noon, police said Nicholas Young, 22, of Rutland, walked behind the counter at the popular bistro at the corner of Center Street and Merchants Row, grabbed a bag full of cash intended for the bank along with an employee’s purse, then walked quickly from the store, according to witnesses.

In the ensuing chaos, employee Kate Barcellos bolted out the door and pursued Young down the sidewalk on Merchants Row, through the Asa Bloomer Building and onto the bus terminal under the downtown transit center.

Barcellos, who is 22 and stands 4 feet 11 inches tall, said she kept up a steady stream of shouts for help and for the man to stop.

At the terminal, three bystanders heeded her calls and tackled Young, who was taken into police custody. The purse and the bag of money were returned to the Coffee Exchange, Barcellos said.

Police said Young has been charged with felony grand larceny and two misdemeanor counts of simple assault for allegedly biting two of the bystanders who tackled him. One of the bystanders had to be taken to the hospital for treatment.